Topic: BetterHealthGuy Donates to "Under Our Skin" - Please Help Support This Critical Movie
SForsgren
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7686
posted
"Under Our Skin" is a movie in development about Lyme Disease. It is critically important that people hear about our struggles.
As I feel this is an important project, BetterHealthGuy.com is donating $100 dollars to this project (which now puts me over 2000 dollars in the red ).
I would ask for you to review the information about the movie and how much it may help all of us and consider a donation if you are able. There is a "Contribute" link at the site below. http://www.openeyepictures.com/underourskin/index.html
Posts: 4617 | From San Jose, CA | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
posted
Is this a Medical Question?
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
| IP: Logged |
SForsgren
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7686
posted
No, it is not. I thought people would be excited about the film and that someone has a project as exciting as this underway to try and help us all. Apologies if anyone is offended by the post.
------------------ Best, Scott www.BetterHealthGuy.com
Posts: 4617 | From San Jose, CA | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Wow, I really hope this movie gets made. And I hope hope hope it gets a distributor. Sounds like they have some really good people working on it. I actually wish the website talked a little bit more about the production itself.
A.
Posts: 923 | From California | Registered: Aug 2005
| IP: Logged |
You know what, I don't care WHAT forum this is posted in. Great news, great great news.
Thank you for this post, very encouraging. when do you think we can expect to see it? Is this like independant and only going to be in selected theaters or an all over type of thing. ( figive me if it stated as such on the site)
I can't wait.
------------------ -Kimmi Just keep swimming!
Posts: 251 | From East Greenville pa, usa | Registered: Jun 2005
| IP: Logged |
oxygenbabe
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5831
posted
I'd like to know who they are (there are brief bios)--ie why they want to do this. DId they have lyme disease? Its good they want to do it but I feel uncomfortable with the little bit of information given.
Posts: 2276 | From united states | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
SForsgren
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7686
posted
I sent all these questions to them this morning and we will see if they respond.
------------------ Best, Scott www.BetterHealthGuy.com
Posts: 4617 | From San Jose, CA | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
shazdancer
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1436
posted
I remember when this company was proposing to do this movie a year ago. I believe they were searching for film subjects here.
Open Eye Pictures has also made films about postmodern dancer Anna Halprin, whose name I recognized as being a major player in the world of dance. So I emailed her, and she reassured me that this company is very professional.
Judging by her endorsement and by the website's description of the film (it is in production now), I would have no trouble endorsing this film myself. I look forward to seeing how it turns out.
Regards, Shaz
Posts: 1558 | From the Berkshires | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Wow! If there's even a remote chance that this will get exposure...Amen to this project!
Posts: 740 | From BC Canada | Registered: Mar 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm co-producer of UNDER OUR SKIN, and I can assure you that this documentary WILL be broadcast nationally. National TV exposure will be the best way to get the word out to millions about the real size of the epidemic and the seriousness of the disease. It's mostly a human interest story, but we are also attempting to explain how the politics of the disease have left thousands of patients in healthcare purgatory.
Our director, Andy Abrahams Wilson, is Emmy-nominated for his documentary BUBBAH LEE AND ME (it ran on HBO last month). He's done a number of disease-related films, including one on AIDS, dystonia, and cancer and caregivers. His twin sister had Lyme.
I'm co-producer, and my husband and I have been battling Lyme for 3 years. I'm a writer/researcher, and my first screenplay was produced last year (THE HORSE TRADER.) I'm concentrating on fundraising and researching the politics of Lyme. If you have any inside information on the history and politics of Lyme, please send it to me, [email protected].
Our other co-producer, Cheryl, has a 9-year-old daughter who coincidentally just contracted Lyme on Cape Cod in June. Her daughter would have been in serious trouble if she hadn't learned about the early warning signs through this project. Cheryl has been in charge of looking for our featured Lyme sufferers, and many of you have had conversations with her on the phone.
PROJECT STATUS: We have filmed about 40 hours of interviews, and we just submitted a sample tape to PBS and, soon, to HBO. We are following the Lyme journeys of 6 characters over the next few months. We still need a seriously ill male character and/or a child who are ungoing some Lyme-related transition/drama.
We are currently being slowed down by lack of funds, since our filming requires a lot of travel (Florida, Virginia, NC, Mass., NY.) Our core team has not been paid for the last eight months -- most of the funds we've raised have gone to outside production services and travel. So any donations would greatly appreciated. Our hope is that PBS will fund us to completion, with a broadcast guarantee, but we won't know until December.
We have all been personally touched by this disease, and it is a project that we are extremely passionate about. After hearing your tragic Lyme stories for the last eight months, we feel a real urgency to get this project out sooner rather than later. So anything you could to help would be greatly appreciated -- from donations, to broadcast contacts, to leads on our final characters.
Posts: 245 | From Palo Alto, CA USA | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
shazdancer
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1436
posted
Thanks for the information, Kris, and best wishes on your much-needed project.
Regards, Shaz
Posts: 1558 | From the Berkshires | Registered: Jul 2001
| IP: Logged |
WildCondor
Unregistered
posted
The project is awesome! I sent in my donation awhile back. I fully support this project. Can't wait to see the results. Thank you for passing the link along to others on the board. This is in no way SPAM, give me a break! People put action alerts and fundraiser threads in medical questions all the time, give this betterhealth guy a break! he is doing good work!
posted
I give full moral support to the production of this film, and a once-per-month bid on this website for donations for its development and production; furthermore, that the monthly bid for donation be made in the following flash-discussion sections:
1. Medical 2. General 3. Off Topic 4. Lyme Activism
The producer should consider speaking with the website owner and those individuals involved with the development, and maintenance of this site, about my proposal to make this bid on lymenet.org for donation(s) to the production of this film.
I neither know the people making this film, nor have I ANY financial interest,or inducements for making this proposal.
Sorry for sounding 'officious,' but, given the opportunity for any 'entrepreneur' to 'hock' their wares I thought it necessary to be so. Again, I think the website owner,et.al., involved with the development and maintenance of this site should decide on this proposal.
[This message has been edited by pq (edited 02 September 2005).]
troutscout
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 3121
posted
Absolutely LOVE it...way to go folks...I am troubled...by one thing here...first let me volunteer you a male here in Iowa....
Now back to my querie....
You have No ONE in the middle states(Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota) on your list of subjectse...where lyme is highly endemic and there are NO Lyme Doc's...what can I do to get you here?
Thamks..I LOVE this...I have met with two independent film producers here in Iowa while they were attempting to screen for actors for different films...to undertake a docu-drama about Lyme.
WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
KUDO's
Trout
[This message has been edited by troutscout (edited 03 September 2005).]
Posts: 5262 | From North East Iowa | Registered: Sep 2002
| IP: Logged |
I'll add to my post above that, the website owners, et. al. as mentioned in my post above, should render a formal statement of their position on my proposal.
quote:Originally posted by troutscout: Kris I viewed your site references....
You are QUOTING Dr A Steeres' Group on TREATMENT...please remove the ALDF from your resources.
Trout
Definately do not quote STEERE as correct!!! We lymies battle this everyday as our insurance companies hang thier hat on this supposed SELF appointed lyme specialist(and I use specialist very sarcastically at best!)
Everything else looks great!! Good Job!!!THANK YOU so much......
daniella
[This message has been edited by daniella (edited 03 September 2005).]
oxygenbabe
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5831
posted
Yes, this looks potentially very good. Yes, definitely, there should be somebody from the south (what about Wyatt Sexton) and from the west coast where WA1 is epidemic.
From the website description I should point out it was not a "new ailment." One of the travesties involved here is the bullseye rash and associated "lyme" symptoms were known in EUrope for years and speculated to be a bacterial infection. So it was not a "new" ailment and idiotic Steere even said it was viral which means he was SO DUMB OR LAZY he didn't even do a decent review of the medical literature, which would have had him looking for a bacteria. He later revised his opinion in the face of pressure of other evidence and burgdorferi's "discovery" (whether it was truly a discovery, I don't know, but I guess it was), but he still said it was a short-term infection ie only a few weeks or a month, which is TOTALLY CONTRADICTORY TO known evidence about spirochetal infections.
Thus Steere is basically either a complete idiot who has no understanding of the most basic biology/microbiology, or he's purposely gone to the dark side, or both.
So anyway, this is not a "new" infection, it is an emerging or re-emerging infection that is now epidemic.
IN ADDITION what is really important to convey is the variety of strains. There are strains whose Osp C (one of the major presenting antigens in the human) apparently are not pathogenic. There are some strains that might never progress, and there are others that may be highly pathogenic.
IN ADDITION to that what is REALLY important is that the coinfections are rampant. In the Elizabethan Islands and now coastal connecticut, babesia is EPIDEMIC. In New Jersey, bartonella is EPIDEMIC.
The mix of bugs--depending on where you live, how many bugs were in your tick, how many tickbites you got, you have a soup of different strains of intracellular bugs that all have an affiity for the CNS...and bad tests for THEM ALL.
The picture is so complex that busy harried doctors simply write it all off and most of them have only ordinary intelligence anyway and they weren't built to be heroes either.
Posts: 2276 | From united states | Registered: Jun 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Thanks for all the feedback on the documentary website. I'll try and update it this week. (We wrote it about 8 months ago, when we didn't understand the issues as well.)
KrisKraft
Posts: 245 | From Palo Alto, CA USA | Registered: Jul 2003
| IP: Logged |
The Lyme Disease Network is a non-profit organization funded by individual donations. If you would like to support the Network and the LymeNet system of Web services, please send your donations to:
The
Lyme Disease Network of New Jersey 907 Pebble Creek Court,
Pennington,
NJ08534USA http://www.lymenet.org/